


Time Lord Technology and Hidden Depths

by LiraelClayr007



Series: My 31 Days of Ficmas [5]
Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Christmas Eve, F/M, London, Street Kids, World War II, grown TARDIS, traveling again
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-06
Updated: 2017-12-06
Packaged: 2019-02-11 04:13:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,903
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12927189
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LiraelClayr007/pseuds/LiraelClayr007
Summary: They stood together, holding hands, the air around them humming with anticipation and possibility. Rose had a messenger bag slung over her shoulder. The Doctor held a key.“Here we are, Rose Tyler. Are you ready?”She squeezed his hand. “Allons-y,” she said, unable to hold back her smile.His laugh wrapped around her like a warm hug. “Allons-y!” he repeated, grinning. Then he reached out and put the key into the keyhole of their brand new TARDIS.





	Time Lord Technology and Hidden Depths

They stood together, holding hands, the air around them humming with anticipation and possibility. Rose had a messenger bag slung over her shoulder. The Doctor held a key.

“Here we are, Rose Tyler. Are you ready?”

She squeezed his hand. “Allons-y,” she said, unable to hold back her smile.

His laugh wrapped around her like a warm hug. “Allons-y!” he repeated, grinning. Then he reached out and put the key into the keyhole of their brand new TARDIS.

It had taken just less than a year and a half to grow from the “seed” the (other) Doctor had given them before going back to his universe. Today was their maiden voyage.

“Not that I’m complaining,” Rose said, “but why does it look like this? Isn’t it supposed to...blend? You said the other one looked like a police box because the chameleon circuit was broken.” Because their new TARDIS looked almost exactly like the old one. The blue was a bit brighter, maybe, and the door handles had a slightly different shape. Other than that…

The Doctor shrugged. “Maybe she knew what we wanted.”

Rose raised her eyebrows. “She?”

He winked.

Again she squeezed his hand, and then together--even though the sign still said pull--they pushed the door open and went inside.

It felt like home.

* * *

They could have explored for hours, of course, but they were too anxious to be off. The Doctor pulled Rose into a tight embrace and asked, “Where are we headed, then? Your choice. All of time and space are at our fingertips once again! The Doctor and Rose in the TARDIS, as it should be.” He spun her around, laughter spilling from both of them.

“I actually have something in mind,” Rose said, a twinkle in her eye. “Do you remember when we met Captain Jack, that time in London?”

“Oh yes. ‘I’m looking for a blond,’” he said, in a horrible imitation of his previous incarnation’s accent.

She pulled a face at the weird combination of old and new and pushed on. “Can we go around that same time period? London, war-torn, lots of kids on the streets? Only Christmas Eve, please.”

“Christmas Eve and street kids? What have you got up your sleeve?” he asked with a grin.

She grinned right back at him. “It’s in my bag, actually.”

* * *

Rose almost cried at the sight of the Doctor’s hands dancing across the controls, at the familiar grinding/whooshing sound of the TARDIS. The trip itself took less than a minute, and then there they were, opening the doors into another time.

A dusting of grey snow covered the silent street in front of them. There were no cars, just an abandoned, broken bicycle leaning against a lamppost and a tipped over rubbish bin. The snow, still falling, was unblemished.

“Does anyone live here?” asked Rose. “It’s spooky.” They hesitated to walk out the TARDIS door and onto the empty street, but they both felt the thrill of excitement when they stepped into the past.

The Doctor’s eyes darted from side to side, up and down, taking in their surroundings. “I don’t think it’s completely abandoned. I wonder if maybe there was a recent attack, and the people haven’t come out of hiding yet? They could be down in cellars and shelters.” He pointed to a sidewalk leading to a house three down from where they stood. “Look at that one. There are old footprints, under the most recent snow. And I hear planes. Far distant, but they are out there.”

Rose shook her head. She believed him, but she couldn’t hear anything but the soft sound of falling snow.

His head whipped around. “There!” he said, pointing toward a shadowy alley up the block. “I think if we go that way just might find those kids you’re looking for. Got your supplies?”

She patted her bag. She loved him for so many reasons, but in that moment she loved him for his utter faith in her. He didn’t ask questions, just trusted that she knew what she was doing. Unexpectedly tears welled up in her eyes; she hastily scrubbed them away and followed after her Doctor, careful not to slip in the newly fallen snow. The air was cold, so cold that her breath frosted in clouds around her head and the snow squeaked under her boots. The squeak of each step was loud in the quiet night.

She caught up to the Doctor and slipped her hand into his, finding comfort in the familiar warmth of his palm against hers. “This way,” he said, his voice soft as the snow. They stepped into the alley.

Rose knew immediately that they were being watched. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end and all her senses were on high alert. She didn’t feel _threatened_ though, not exactly. Just _warned_ , like the the watchers were sending out a “We are here, be aware of us” message. The Doctor squeezed her hand. He felt it too, and again he was trusting her to lead.

Tucking these thoughts away to marvel over later, she said in a low, light voice, “It’s alright. We’re the good guys. English. We don’t want anything from you. I have something for you, actually.” She plunged her hands into her bag and brought out handfuls of Christmas sweets: candy canes and chocolate coins and gingerbread men and turkish delight. She also had oranges and bananas--the Doctor grinned at those--and small loaves of bread. The children, who had been crouched behind rubbish bins and stacks of boxes couldn’t stay hidden at these heaps of treasure. They peeked out from their hiding places, being careful to stay in the shadows, but they couldn’t hide the noise. There were gasps and moans of pure delight mixed with what was unmistakably hunger.

“It’s really alright. Happy Christmas,” said Rose, pushing her hands a little closer to the children in the shadows, trying to draw them out. “I’m Rose. And this is the Doctor. We just brought some Christmas treats, that’s all. Didn’t figure anyone else would.”

Slowly, slowly, a small dark haired boy, no more than six years old, stepped out from behind a mouldy box. “I’ve never tasted a candy cane before,” he said, his eyes fixed on the red and white striped candies. “I’ve seen them in shops, but never…” His voice trailed off as he stepped closer and closer, and finally reached out his hand to Rose. His bright green eyes looked into hers and said, “It’s really okay, mum?”

Rose couldn’t speak; she knew if she did the tears in her eyes would start to fall and she’d lose all control. So she just smiled and nodded and put a candy cane in the boy’s small, dirty hand. He unwrapped it with great care; then, when he couldn’t wait any longer, took a taste.

His eyes widened. “This is the best thing I ever tasted. _Ever_. Sally! Come taste this!” A girl with soft brown hair, perhaps his sister, clambered down from the pile of wooden crates she’d been perched on. While Sally looked at the sweets the boy said, “All of you, come on! This is good!”

Before Rose knew what had happened, she was surrounded by children; it was difficult to count because they didn’t stay still, but she guessed there were twelve or fifteen, none of them older than ten. Amazingly they didn’t grab, they waited their turn to choose from the pile of sweets. They must have been able to see that there was plenty to go around. Every time something started to run low--the candy canes were a definite favorite, followed by the oranges and the bread--Rose would reach into her bag and pull out more. Eventually the Doctor noticed. He left the little girl he’d been chatting with, and his eyebrows were puzzled when he sidled up to Rose.

“That bag,” he said, speaking right into her ear so none of the children could hear. “Where did you get it?”

She grinned up at him and winked. “The TARDIS made it for me. The old one, I mean. I asked and it--I mean, _she_ \--made it for me. Time Lord technology. Bigger on the inside. It got left on board when we were--” She faltered; it still hurt to think about how she had been trapped in Pete’s World the first time. Being separated from the Doctor had been like having half of herself amputated without anesthetic. “But when I was back on board I snatched it up again, made sure it got out the door with me. Bloody useful, this bag.”

“Why Rose Tyler,” said the Doctor, wonderment in his eyes and a smile curving his lips, “full of hidden depths, you are.” He kissed her fully, to the immediate disgust of the boys in the group. Some of the girls, too.

When all the food was passed out--the children were amazed to find that there was much more than they could possibly eat, including quite a lot of fruit--Rose exclaimed, “Oh! I nearly forgot!” She reached into her bag, her arm disappearing up to the shoulder, and rooted around for a moment before she cried out, “I’ve got it!” She pulled out a blanket. And then another, and another. The blankets were followed by wool sweaters, and socks, and scarves, and hats, and mittens. The children’s eyes grew wider and wider. They almost certainly thought they were dreaming, but what would they think when they woke up snug and warm and full the next morning? Rose would become a legend. The Doctor grinned. _Quite right_ , he thought.

A moment later a siren echoed in the street. “What’s that?” asked Rose, clearly startled.

The children looked at her as if she was from another planet. _You’re almost right_ , thought the Doctor, amused. A blond girl said, “It’s the all-clear siren, mum. The bombers are gone. People can go outside again.”

“That’s our cue to go then,” said the Doctor, putting his arm around Rose. The children clambered around them, jostling to get in close, to hug Rose, to whisper their thanks. She hugged every one of them, and ruffled their hair or stroked their cheeks. All too soon they were gone, the children deeper into the alley and Rose and the Doctor back onto the street they’d come from, holding hands again, walking to their TARDIS. The street was still empty but a few lights had come on in the once dark houses. The town was coming back to life.

“I know I can’t fix everything,” Rose said as they walked the last few steps on the dark, snowy street. “I just wanted to bring a little joy to some kids on Christmas.”

The Doctor pulled her through the blue doors, into the warmth of the TARDIS, the warmth of _home_. “You were brilliant. Absolutely brilliant.” He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her softly, first her cheeks, then her forehead, then her lips.

When they could breathe again, the Doctor said, “So, back home now?”

Rose, her arms still wrapped around him, buried her face in his neck. “I’m already home.”

After a beat to fix the moment in his memory he busied himself with the control panel. When the TARDIS flew into the time vortex he shouted, “Well then, allons-y!”

 

**Author's Note:**

> 31 Days of Ficmas || Day 5: Candy Canes


End file.
